Editing Lincoln Tunnel (section)

==== Early progress ====
In November 1933, the Port Authority announced that it had picked the chief engineers for the Midtown Hudson Tunnel. These officials included [[O. H. Ammann]] as the Chief Engineer; Ole Singstad, the New York and New Jersey Tunnel Commissions' former chief engineer, as the Chief Tunnel Consulting Engineer; [[Ralph Smillie]], the [[Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority]] chief engineer, as Design Engineer; [[Robert Ridgway (engineer)|Robert Ridgway]] and [[James Forgie (engineer)|James Forgie]] as tunnel consultants; [[Charles S. Gleim]] as Engineer of Construction; and Port Authority Commissioner [[Alexander J. Shamberg]] as chief of the division that would oversee construction. The Port Authority's former chairman, John Galvin, would be retained as a consultant.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|61}}<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/11/19/archives/engineers-named-for-38th-st-tube-shamberg-to-direct-building-of.html |title=Engineers Named for 38th St. Tube |date=November 19, 1933 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 24, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325051944/https://www.nytimes.com/1933/11/19/archives/engineers-named-for-38th-st-tube-shamberg-to-direct-building-of.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The construction work itself would be supervised by [[George Breck Montgomery]], who had served in the same position for the Holland Tunnel's construction.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|62}}

The tube would stretch {{Convert|6000|ft|m}} from the New Jersey side's ventilation shaft to the New York side's construction shaft, but the total length between portals would be {{Convert|8218|ft|m}}. It was slated to have a diameter of {{Convert|31|ft|m}} carrying a {{Convert|21|ft|m|-wide|adj=mid}} roadway, with a cast-iron and steel outer lining and a concrete inner lining. This contract would also include the construction of ventilation shafts on each side, as well as {{Convert|60|ft|m}} of additional tunnel on the New Jersey side. The tube was to be bored using the [[Tunnelling shield|shield-tunneling method]], and shields would proceed from both sides at the same time. The shield on the New York side would pass through a [[Caisson (engineering)|caisson]], which allowed air pressure in the tunnel to be maintained while the tube was being bored. Tunneling work would start on the New York side first because a construction shaft had already been sunk to the west of [[Eleventh Avenue (Manhattan)|Eleventh Avenue]], while the New Jersey shaft would be sunk later.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/01/02/archives/38th-st-tube-bs-to-be-opened-feb6-contract-for-underriver.html |title=38th St. Tube Is to Be Opened Feb. 6 |date=January 2, 1934 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 24, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325050056/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/01/02/archives/38th-st-tube-bs-to-be-opened-feb6-contract-for-underriver.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Thirty-two ventilation buildings would be constructed, of which 15 would pull air into the tunnel, and 17 would exhaust air from the tunnel.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/01/28/archives/how-tube-is-ventilated-mechanical-engineer-describes-system-in.html |title=How Tube Is Ventilated |date=January 28, 1938 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 27, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328044400/https://www.nytimes.com/1938/01/28/archives/how-tube-is-ventilated-mechanical-engineer-describes-system-in.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Port Authority received five bids for the construction of the Midtown Hudson Tunnel.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/02/22/archives/five-bid-on-section-of-midtown-tube-only-new-york-firms-seek.html |title=Five Bid on Section of Midtown Tube |date=February 22, 1934 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 24, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325045654/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/02/22/archives/five-bid-on-section-of-midtown-tube-only-new-york-firms-seek.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Construction began on the first tube, now the center of the three tubes, on May 18, 1934, with ceremonies on both sides. Officials from the federal, state, and city levels were in attendance at the ceremony on the New York side, where New York City Mayor [[Fiorello H. La Guardia]] and New Jersey Governor [[A. Harry Moore]] wielded picks to dig up the ceremonial first mound of dirt.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|62–65}}<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/05/18/archives/fetes-in-2-states-start-hudson-tube-37000000-midtown-project-is.html |title=Fetes in 2 States Start Hudson Tube |date=May 18, 1934 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 24, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325050829/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/05/18/archives/fetes-in-2-states-start-hudson-tube-37000000-midtown-project-is.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The 700-ton cubical caisson for the New York side was floated into place and sunk into the riverbed in July.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/07/18/archives/article-6-no-title-600ton-caisson-for-the-38th-st-tunnel-floated.html |title=600-Ton Caisson for the 38th St. Tunnel Floated Here on Tide and Put Into Place |date=July 18, 1934 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 24, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325051916/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/07/18/archives/article-6-no-title-600ton-caisson-for-the-38th-st-tunnel-floated.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Even though the caisson had been manufactured in nearby [[Kearny, New Jersey]], it had taken two days to be floated to Manhattan because the caisson was so large.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|66}}  Also in July, issues arose when the City of Weehawken refused to let the Port Authority conduct blasting for the New Jersey ventilation shaft for more than 12 hours a day. The Port Authority warned that this could delay construction.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/07/07/archives/free-hand-asked-for-tube-blasting-port-authority-seeks-to-lift.html |title=Free Hand Asked for Tube Blasting |date=July 7, 1934 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 24, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325105704/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/07/07/archives/free-hand-asked-for-tube-blasting-port-authority-seeks-to-lift.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Another disagreement concerned the hiring of unskilled laborers to work on the Midtown Hudson Tunnel construction project. Unionized skilled laborers, who feared that their specialized jobs were being given to unskilled laborers, briefly threatened to strike over "unfair labor practices", as the author [[Angus Gillespie]] states in his book ''Crossing Under the Hudson''.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|67}} After twenty days, officials guaranteed that skilled jobs would be awarded only to skilled laborers, and work resumed.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|67–69}}

[[File:Lincoln Tunnel under construction 1936.jpg|thumb|Construction progress, 1936]]

Meanwhile, the Port Authority still had not acquired and cleared all of the land in the way of the Midtown Hudson Tunnel's approaches.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/06/22/archives/492650-awarded-for-tunnel-land-covers-12-of-37-actions-by-port.html |title=$492,650 Awarded for Tunnel Land |date=June 22, 1934 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 24, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325050823/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/06/22/archives/492650-awarded-for-tunnel-land-covers-12-of-37-actions-by-port.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Construction of the approaches on the New York side necessitated the demolition of 91 buildings, mainly tenements, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues from 34th to 42nd Street.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|69}} These buildings, located in the neighborhood of [[Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan|Hell's Kitchen]], were seen as either being already dilapidated, or nearing such a condition.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/08/27/archives/part-of-hells-kitchen-doomed-by-tunnel-91-houses-to-be-razed-to.html |title=Part of Hell's Kitchen Doomed by Tunnel: 91 Houses to Be Razed to Build Approach |date=August 27, 1934 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 24, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325050735/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/08/27/archives/part-of-hells-kitchen-doomed-by-tunnel-91-houses-to-be-razed-to.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The demolition process was inadvertently aided by a fire that burned down one of the condemned buildings in October 1934.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/10/27/archives/blaze-in-39th-st-aids-tube-project-warehouse-in-hells-kitchen-burns.html |title=Blaze in 39th St. Aids Tube Project |date=October 27, 1934 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 24, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325051018/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/10/27/archives/blaze-in-39th-st-aids-tube-project-warehouse-in-hells-kitchen-burns.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Bidding for the New York approach was opened in June 1935, by which point the demolition of the 91 buildings was well underway.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/06/14/archives/bids-are-opened-for-tunnel-plaza-ten-contractors-make-offers-for.html |title=Bids Are Opened for Tunnel Plaza |date=June 14, 1935 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326154903/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/06/14/archives/bids-are-opened-for-tunnel-plaza-ten-contractors-make-offers-for.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On the New Jersey side, there were disagreements over how to construct the approach, since Weehawken had been built on a sharp ledge called King's Bluff. In July 1935, after discussing 75 proposals for two and a half years, the Weehawken town council voted to approve a distinctive "loop" approach.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|65}}<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/07/13/archives/weehawken-votes-for-tube-approach-town-board-approves-loop-plan.html |title=Weehawken Votes for Tube Approach |date=July 13, 1935 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326153341/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/07/13/archives/weehawken-votes-for-tube-approach-town-board-approves-loop-plan.html |url-status=live }}</ref> At the western end of the Midtown Hudson Tunnel in New Jersey, the tube would curve south and then end at a portal, where there would be a toll plaza. A road would diverge to the east, then quickly turn north and then west while ascending the ledge.<ref name="NYTimes-ApproachModel-1936">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/11/21/archives/approach-to-tunnel-is-shown-in-model-port-authority-exhibits-design.html |title=Approach to Tunnel Is Shown in Model |date=November 21, 1936 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327023816/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/11/21/archives/approach-to-tunnel-is-shown-in-model-port-authority-exhibits-design.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This loop would lead from [[Boulevard East|Hudson Boulevard East]] at the bottom of King's Bluff to Pleasant Avenue at the top.<ref name="The New York Times 1937 3">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/07/09/archives/tunnel-approach-bid-let-contract-for-jersey-construction-calls-for.html |title=Tunnel Approach Bid Let |date=July 9, 1937 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 27, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328042826/https://www.nytimes.com/1937/07/09/archives/tunnel-approach-bid-let-contract-for-jersey-construction-calls-for.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Sandhog]]s, specialized construction workers, proceeded to dig the Midtown Hudson Tunnel from both ends, boring a tube that measured {{Convert|32|ft|m}} in diameter and {{Convert|8,000|ft|m}} between ventilation shafts.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|65}} It was generally easier to dig from the New Jersey side, which consisted mostly of muddy sediment, than from the New York side, which contained many tons of rocks.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|71}} Compressed air was used to prevent river water from flooding the tunnel, and a temporary [[Bulkhead (barrier)|bulkhead]] was built a few yards past the construction shaft, through which air was pumped. The tunneling shields continued digging past the bulkhead, within the pressurized chamber. An [[airlock]] was provided in order to prevent workers from undergoing sudden depressurization.<ref name="Robbins 1935" /> Each sandhog worked two 3-hour-long shifts per day, punctuated by a break of three hours.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|66}} After a section of the bore was completed, the sandhogs assembled segments of 14 curved metal pieces into rings that measured 31 feet in diameter and weighed 20 tons.<ref name="Robbins 1935">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/03/17/archives/under-the-hudson-with-the-sandhogs-an-adventurous-crew-using.html |title=Under The Hudson with the Sandhogs |last=Robbins |first=L. H. |date=March 17, 1935 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326153253/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/03/17/archives/under-the-hudson-with-the-sandhogs-an-adventurous-crew-using.html |url-status=live }}</ref> During the process of construction, {{Convert|145000|yd3|m3}} of sediment and earth and {{Convert|28000|yd3|m3}} of rocky dirt were displaced, and 2,370 metal rings were installed.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/07/28/archives/midtown-river-tube-pushes-on-to-goal-when-400ton-shield-bumps.html |title=Midtown River Tube Pushes on to Goal |last=Bernstein |first=Victor H. |date=July 28, 1935 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326153240/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/07/28/archives/midtown-river-tube-pushes-on-to-goal-when-400ton-shield-bumps.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The reporter [[L.H. Robbins]] wrote a descriptive account of the construction work, comparing the tunnel shield to a "Steel Hercules", calling the sandhogs "ox-strong, rough-clad", and describing the tunnel itself as being like "a bit of the realm of Tartarus".<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|69–71}}

The Midtown Hudson Tunnel's vehicular tube was being excavated from both ends, but the teams on the New Jersey side worked faster because the ground there was softer. As a result, most of the work had been undertaken by the teams working from the New Jersey side, and the two ends of the tube were ultimately connected at the caisson on the New York side.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|72}} The tunneling work posed some danger: three workers were killed in tunneling incidents during the first year of construction, and a dynamite accident in April 1935 killed three more sandhogs.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/04/09/archives/3-dead-1-injured-by-tunnel-blast-133-pounds-of-dynamite-set-off.html |title=3 Dead, 1 Injured by Tunnel Blast |date=April 9, 1935 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326153243/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/04/09/archives/3-dead-1-injured-by-tunnel-blast-133-pounds-of-dynamite-set-off.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The sandhogs dug at an average rate of {{Convert|25|ft|m}} per day,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/02/20/archives/cameras-record-work-under-river-sandhogs-toil-on-midtown-tunnel-in.html |title=Cameras Record Work Under River |date=February 20, 1935 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326154858/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/02/20/archives/cameras-record-work-under-river-sandhogs-toil-on-midtown-tunnel-in.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and by May 1935, workers from the New Jersey side had dug past the state border.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|72}} By June, half of the tunnel had been excavated.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/05/28/archives/pass-halfway-mark-on-tunnel.html |title=Pass Half-Way Mark on Tunnel |date=May 28, 1935 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326154741/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/05/28/archives/pass-halfway-mark-on-tunnel.html |url-status=live }}</ref> During one week that month, sandhogs dug {{Convert|250|ft|m}} of tunnel,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/06/11/archives/tunnel-work-set-record-250-feet-of-midtown-hudson-tube-built-last.html |title=Tunnel Work Set Record |date=June 11, 1935 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326161850/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/06/11/archives/tunnel-work-set-record-250-feet-of-midtown-hudson-tube-built-last.html |url-status=live }}</ref> which the Port Authority proclaimed was world record in tunnel-digging.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|72}} The two parts of the tube were connected in a ceremony in August 1935, four months ahead of schedule.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/08/03/archives/hudson-sandhogs-set-tunnel-mark-holing-through-for-midtown-tube.html |title=Hudson Sandhogs Set Tunnel Mark |date=August 3, 1935 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326160321/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/08/03/archives/hudson-sandhogs-set-tunnel-mark-holing-through-for-midtown-tube.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The method of financing the Midtown Hudson Tunnel was revised in late 1935. Originally, the Port Authority had advertised $34.3 million in bonds at a 4% interest rate, with the first issue of bonds set to mature in 1975.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252011%2FNew%2520York%2520Evening%2520Post%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Evening%2520Post%25201935%2520Grayscale%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Evening%2520Post%25201935%2520Grayscale%2520-%25201800.pdf |title=The Port of New York Authority General and Refunding Bonds to Be Dated March 1, 1935 |date=March 1, 1935 |work=New York Evening Post |access-date=April 14, 2018 |pages=21 |via=Old Fulton New York Postcards |archive-date=January 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124023540/https://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/New%20York%20Evening%20Post/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post%201935%20Grayscale/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post%201935%20Grayscale%20-%201800.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In November, the PWA announced that it would change the $37.5 million loan to a $4.78 million grant once the Port Authority had sold the PWA $22.3 million in bonds.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/11/26/archives/pwa-drops-tunnel-loan-outright-grant-of-4780000-approved-instead.html |title=PWA Drops Tunnel Loan |date=November 26, 1935 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326154725/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/11/26/archives/pwa-drops-tunnel-loan-outright-grant-of-4780000-approved-instead.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The rest of the outstanding balance, approximately $10.4 million, was to be raised privately, and the Port Authority would have raised $32.7 million in bonds by the time the grant was awarded.<ref name="The New York Times 1936">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/01/29/archives/financing-altered-for-midtown-tube-entire-pwa-loan-originally-set.html |title=Financing Altered For Midtown Tube |date=1936 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326153306/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/01/29/archives/financing-altered-for-midtown-tube-entire-pwa-loan-originally-set.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The next month, the Port Authority awarded a $16.5 million bond issue at {{Frac|3|3|4}}% interest rate.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/12/12/archives/tunnel-bonds-sold-by-port-authority-banking-group-bids-97111-for.html |title=Tunnel Bonds Sold by Port Authority |date=December 12, 1935 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326161844/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/12/12/archives/tunnel-bonds-sold-by-port-authority-banking-group-bids-97111-for.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The PWA advanced the grant to the Port Authority in January 1936.<ref name="The New York Times 1936" />

In December 1935, the Port Authority advertised bids for the Weehawken entrance plaza. The plaza consisted of the loop approach; garages for maintenance buildings; a tollbooth; a {{Convert|145|ft|m|adj=on}} steel, brick, and sandstone ventilation building above the tunnel; a section of tube connecting the plaza to the existing underwater segment; and space for a second tunnel portal to the north of the first portal.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/12/20/archives/13-bids-are-submitted-for-midtown-tunnel-3706458-is-the-lowest.html |title=13 Bids Are Submitted for Midtown Tunnel |date=December 20, 1935 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326154900/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/12/20/archives/13-bids-are-submitted-for-midtown-tunnel-3706458-is-the-lowest.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|74}} By this time, the Midtown Hudson Tunnel project was one-third completed.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/12/08/archives/tunnel-third-completed-record-being-set-in-boring-of-midtown-tube.html |title=Tunnel Third Completed |date=December 8, 1935 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326160305/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/12/08/archives/tunnel-third-completed-record-being-set-in-boring-of-midtown-tube.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The part of the tube that connected to the entrance plaza was holed-through in September of the same year.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/09/02/archives/midtown-tunnel-is-holed-through-last-25foot-section-blasted-on-new.html |title=Midtown Tunnel Is Holed Through |date=September 2, 1936 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326153233/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/09/02/archives/midtown-tunnel-is-holed-through-last-25foot-section-blasted-on-new.html |url-status=live }}</ref> New Jersey civic groups stated that they needed to raise another $9 million in bond funds, since the construction of the proposed entrance plaza in Weehawken would bring the project's cost to $46.5 million.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/02/18/archives/more-funds-asked-for-hudson-tube-jersey-group-headed-by-moore.html |title=More Funds Asked for Hudson Tube |date=February 18, 1936 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326153231/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/02/18/archives/more-funds-asked-for-hudson-tube-jersey-group-headed-by-moore.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This cost would be composed of $42 million raised in bonds plus the $4.78 million PWA grant.<ref name="The New York Times 1936 2">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/11/25/archives/twin-hudson-tube-to-be-bored-soon-at-33000000-cost-port-authority.html |title=Twin Hudson Tube to Be Bored Soon at $33,000,000 Cost |date=November 25, 1936 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327032151/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/11/25/archives/twin-hudson-tube-to-be-bored-soon-at-33000000-cost-port-authority.html |url-status=live }}</ref> That November, the Port Authority's commissioners authorized the agency to seek an additional $9 million in funds from the PWA.<ref name="The New York Times 1936 2" />

Simultaneously, work began on retrofitting the tunnel for vehicular use, so it could be in operation by the time the [[1939 New York World's Fair]] started. The retrofits consisted of installing ceiling panels with exhaust pipes; a roadway with air ducts; and straight retaining walls with ceramic tiles, metal police booths, and a catwalk for maintenance and emergency uses.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|72–73}} Workers installed 800,000 glass tiles, each {{Convert|6|in|cm}} square, along the ceiling of the tube, comprising what ''The New York Times'' described as "the largest glass ceiling in the world".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/12/17/archives/glass-tile-ceiling-planned-for-tube-largest-overhead-covering-of.html |title=Glass Tile Ceiling Planned for Tube |date=December 17, 1935 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327084124/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/12/17/archives/glass-tile-ceiling-planned-for-tube-largest-overhead-covering-of.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After an unexpected gasoline leak from gas stations near the Midtown Hudson Tunnel, workers installed fireproof copper sheeting within the tunnel.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/03/14/archives/tunnel-cost-up-60000-copper-sheet-to-stop-gasoline-leakage-into-new.html |title=Tunnel Cost Up $60,000 |date=March 14, 1936 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327032055/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/03/14/archives/tunnel-cost-up-60000-copper-sheet-to-stop-gasoline-leakage-into-new.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By that October, most of the tube-retrofitting work had been completed, and the Midtown Hudson Tunnel was scheduled to open in fall 1937, several months ahead of schedule. The only major parts of the tunnel that had not been completed were the approaches on either side, but these were progressing quickly as well, as the New York approach plaza was already being excavated.<ref name="Gillespie 2011" />{{Rp|73}}<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/10/02/archives/midtown-tube-work-far-past-schedule-37000000-hudson-project-built.html |title=Midtown Tube Work Far Past Schedule |date=October 2, 1936 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 26, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327025513/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/10/02/archives/midtown-tube-work-far-past-schedule-37000000-hudson-project-built.html |url-status=live }}</ref>